Did you know that the rider’s seat is from knee to knee and everything in between? Read this post and then think about how this riding position might improve your horse’s smooth gait.

The Rider’s Seat: From Knee to Knee and Everything in Between

By Jennifer Klitzke

I’ve been an avid dressage student for over half my life. Within the details of a rider’s position is the rider’s seat. For decades I understood this as the three seat bones that come in contact with the saddle. Well, I’ve come to know it’s more than that. The rider’s seat is from knee to knee and everything in between.

An important function that is not often talked about is the importance of using the inner thighs to help distribute the rider’s weight along the horse’s long back muscles. Perhaps this has been briefly taught over the years, but it hadn’t clicked until now.

To Grip or Not to Grip; that is the Question

This knee-to-knee concept reminds me of when I first began riding. I gripped my knees and thighs together against the saddle in self-preservation to stay on while the horse trotted off. (I also hung onto the saddle horn, too.)

A few years later, when I acquired my first horse, I began taking dressage lessons. This is when gripping with the knees was replaced with balancing on my seat bones and moving in a relaxed fashion with my horse’s motion.

Back then, the rider’s seat didn’t include my knees and thighs, because I believed that any connection of these parts to the saddle meant “tension.” So, for decades I flopped around loosely at a sitting trot on a bouncy horse thinking I was the queen. My non-gaited horse didn’t have a head nod, but I sure did. And I was proud of it!

Stillness and Tension are Not the Same

Paradigms collided when I rode in a Mary Wanless Rider’s Biomechanics clinic. She explained in detail about riding with stillness achieved through core tone and a snug knee and thigh connection with the saddle.

Stillness and tension are not the same thing, just as flopping around loosely on the saddle and relaxation are not the same thing.

It takes great isokinetic effort to ride a moving horse with stillness—especially at the sitting trot. Yet it is possible to ride both relaxed (as long as you remember to breathe) and with high muscle tone.

Confirmation from a Gaited Dressage Duo

Soon after auditing Mary’s clinic, this knee-to-knee-and-everything-in-between rider’s seat concept was further confirmed when I rode in a clinic with gaited dressage duo, Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer.

Larry explained the rider’s seat and its effect on the horse. The rider’s seat includes the three seat bones and the use of the inside thighs along the saddle. This distributes the rider’s weight comfortably along the horse’s long back muscles. This helps the horse lift its back and offer a smoother gait. A hollow back is less comfortable and not as prone to offer a smooth gait.

Without knee and thigh support, the rider’s weight becomes three heavy pressure points on the horse’s spine. This encourages hollowness and discomfort to the horse which hinders the ability for quality smooth gait.

Each time I ride my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana with this knee-to-knee-and-everything-in-between riding position, I feel a distinct improvement in the quality of her flat walk. When I remember to use my core tone and inner thighs along the saddle to distribute my weight, she feels more powerful from behind. She lifts her back and grows taller in the wither and shoulders. She moves naturally more forward with less prodding on my part.

And above all, she is smooth. She nods her head with each step, not me!

Enjoy the journey to longer strides and smoother gaits! Give it a try and let me know how it works with your naturally gaited horse.

For more about Mary Wanless and her biomechanics of riding, visit mary-wanless.com and for more about gaited dressage with Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer, visit whitesellgaitedhorsemanship.com.

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